Child’s remains yield no clues

September 15, 2008 9:00am

An autopsy revealed no clues as to how a 4-year-old girl whose remains were found in the Yarkon River died.

The human remains hidden in a red suitcase that were pulled out of the river in central Israel on Sept. 11 were positively identified as those of Rose Pizen, who had been missing since May and whose disappearance has transfixed Israel over the past few weeks.

The Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv said in a statement Sunday that there were no broken bones and no signs of violence. Police will decide by Thursday whether or not to indict Rose’s grandfather and her mother for her death.

The girl’s grandfather, Ronny Ron, who is also her mother’s live-in-boyfriend, is in police custody and confessed to killing Rose and dumping her body in a suitcase in the river. Last week he recanted his confession. Rose’s French-immigrant mother, Marie Renault, also is in custody.

It is still unclear whether Rose will be buried in Israel or in France.